Say it isn’t so! We celebrate one final summer long weekend and then gear up for back to work, back to school...back to routine. The "awe" of August has been found in the incredible resilience of our small-scale famers who, in the throngs of a drought and record breaking heat, have grown some glorious fall crops. Some recent rain has allowed our farms to see a plethora of tomatoes and some beautiful squash including the flowery orange patty pan squash, the graceful Italian or Trombocino squash, the meaty grill-worthy butternut and the vegan’s favourite spaghetti squash. And we do have to say "awe" August is over; we are heading into the throws of back-to-everything busyness! Next week we will be celebrating the start of September, hopefully some cooler weather and the continued success of our market farms.

Here are few recipes to help you get into a daily squash regime!​We love that Delishably covers how to prepare, cook and freeze patty pan squash.

The Italian Summer square or Trombocino squash has a flavour closer to a butternut and texture similar to zucchini, but less watery! You can even eat the skin. The Organic Farm does a great job of describing how to work with this squash.

Butternut squash in a pie? The Kitchn always comes up with creative uses of everyday foods!

Vendor Feature

This wednesday and for the rest of the market, we are so excited to have Jewels Under The Kilt as our new vendor. Jewels Under the Kilt sells locally, sustainably grown and produced nuts - and tons of varieties of them! On their 90 + acre farm in Fergus, Ontario, the couple behind Jewels grows walnut, hazelnuts, pecans, and other varieties including heart nuts. At the market, Jewels Under the Kilt will have available their wide selections of locally grown nuts, all roasted with unique and delicious flavourings - from chipotle to pumpkin pie. Along with this, they will also have a beautiful selection of nut butters and crunch. Take a look at their website here, and get excited about the selection of items they have: http://www.jewelsunderthekilt.com/

Music

This week we are excited to feature two great acts! The first, from 3-5pm, is SamBea Cochrane! This young performer started out music with Beyond the Beat studios - just down the road from the market. Since then, she has released two albums, with the most recent entitled “Radio Road”. SamBea will be playing solo at the market, and will be playing the keys, acoustic guitar and singing. Second, from 3-5pm will be an awesome duo that we all remember when they were at the market last month - Black Suit Devil. With hauntingly beautiful falsetto, front man Andy Du Rego lays down melodies that are intricately thought out. A powerful combination of acoustic guitar and violin, you will not want to miss the duo.

Remember, while listening to the live music we put together for you at the market, walk around the market and shop from the diverse selection of vendors that we are so lucky to have!

Community

Learn to grown mushrooms!September 6th 7 PM $20.00​Pitchfork Company 1322 Gerrard St. East​Sign Up Now

Join seasoned mushroom growing enthusiast Tom Nagy as he illustrates the basics of how you can grow your own edible & medicinal fungi in your own backyard using a variety of locally sourced and recycled materials.Come and learn about all the different mushroom species that are at your disposal and discover which ones are best suited to your local ecology and available resources. Many mushroom species are perennial and so can become long-lived residents in your backyard, producing several bountiful harvests in a season and improving the productivity of your garden.Many mushrooms grow best in the shade, which allows even those with woodland gardens or treed properties to produce both food and medicine. Some are especially suited to being grown in direct association with vegetable plants, ornamentals and fruit trees, even with partial sun exposure.The limits to how you can grow your own mushrooms are only limited to your imagination and creativity. Never thought you could grow your own mushrooms? Come and be inspired by the possibilities and discoveries that await you!Cost: $20 + complimentary .PDF copy of all of the presentation material for future reference (via E-mail sign-up sheet) included commercial sources of mushroom spawn/mycelium, video links and resources.A limited amount of spawn will be available for sale at the workshop.About Tom: An enthusiastic and insightful encyclopedia of ethnobotany, mycology, and traditional foraging skills, Tom delivers passionate and engaging edible & medicinal plant walks as well as courses and workshops on growing fungi, herbal medicine, fermentation, holistic methods of food production and how to strengthening ecological systems.He lives, loves and grows food and community in Hamilton, Ontario and shares his experiences at outsidethehops.com. For more information about the workshop please contact Tom via tomnagy@outsidethehops.com